Another Sewing Project: Morganna’s Quilt

Here is a photo I wanted to post back in August, when I finished it, but I couldn’t because it was to be my big gift to Morganna for Generic Winter Holiday. (Considering we are a household that includes a Buddhist, an atheist, an agnostic and a Jew, and we are celebrating Hanuka, Yule, and Christmas all at once, we just give the whole shebang a rather droll title and leave it at that.) This year, I made gifts for almost everyone on my list, and this quilt–which you see here as only the pieced top–was the largest gift I made.

Now, the reason you only see the pieced top is because I took it to Susan at The Nelsonville Quilt Company to have her quilt it on her longarm machine, because I am just not competent to quilt something that big on my regular sewing machine.

Anyway, let’s talk about the quilt itself–I saw the design in a magazine and decided that I loved the design, but hated the execution. The designer picked boring fabrics and didn’t vary the width of the strips enough to suit my fancy, so I did it my way. All of the fabrics are batiks or hand-dyes–and I have no clue how many different fabrics are in here. I raided my stash and scrap bag and bought a remarkably few pieces of fabric specifically for this project.

The colors are fantastic, as you can see–brilliant oranges, fuchsias, greens, blues, indigos, violets–yellows–they are all there, along with burnt umbers and golds. I used the black hand-dye as the unifying theme, and I carefully chose individual pieces of fabric to give the illusion that parts of the design are melting into each other. It adds to the psychedelic swirl effect that is mixed with a fractured mirror look.

Which is why I called it “Fractured Fortunes.” Morganna has had a hard, sometimes twisting road toward adulthood, and sometimes the journey has made her feel cracked and broken, but she has emerged as brilliant and beautiful as the fabrics in this quilt, and I know that like this quilt, she will be a sum greater than her parts.

Here is a detail of the corner of the quilt showing that I used four different black and multi-colored batiks for the wide outer border, thus carrying on the crazyquilt scrapbag look and feel of the whole piece.

When she comes back for Spring Break next week, I will photograph the whole quilt to show you the exquisite fabric that Susan and I found for the backing and the delicious multicolored freehand quilting design she did. She did an amazing job, she really did.

I am proud to say that Morganna absolutely loves the quilt and I get a swell of pride every time I see her wrapped up in it or overhear her showing it off to a dorm mate, proudly telling them that “this is what Mom made me for Christmas.”

10 Comments

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1. That is just so very beautiful!

   Comment by Walden — March 14, 2009 #

2. Oh that is exquisite!

   I lived in Nelsonville for a while. Logan and Athens, too. Went to nursing school at Hocking Tech. Met my dh at OU.

   Most beautiful place in Ohio!

   Comment by Jehannaamama — March 14, 2009 #

3. What a beautiful quilt! Lucky Morganna 🙂

   Comment by Maninas — March 14, 2009 #

4. Susan quilted the quilt I made for my son for Christmas. She’s great!

   Comment by Beth — March 14, 2009 #

5. Looking forward to seeing the back– the front is amazing!

   Comment by wwjudith — March 14, 2009 #

6. wow, that’s gorgeous!

   Comment by nancy — March 14, 2009 #

7. I love all those jewel tones. It will look great for years and years!

   Comment by Zebe912 — March 14, 2009 #

8. No wonder Morganna is proud. The quilt is stunning. I love those bright colors. With the black background it reminds me of Amish quilts.

   Comment by Maureen — March 15, 2009 #

9. Wow! That’s the most incredible quilt I’ve ever seen…

   Comment by Diane — March 17, 2009 #

10. What a gorgeous quilt!

    I hope Morganna has (or has already begun to have) the experience of looking back and thinking “I never would have signed up for that if given the choice, but I’m profoundly grateful for having had the experience.”

    Regarding Generic Winter Holiday, you and yours would be more than welcome to join us in celebrating HannuKwanzSolstMas. *grin*

    Comment by Lexica — March 17, 2009 #

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